Bulletins by St. Clare Parish (Page 13)

The Gospel reading for this Fourth Sunday of Advent begins: “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.” It tells the story of God’s direct intervention, not only in the life of Mary, but in the history of humankind and of all creation. What God did was not an evolutionary development, a “natural” progression in our history; it was an act of God, an act of compassion and love, for our salvation. As we make our way through this last week of Advent, our focus on how Jesus’ birth came about can help us to realize that for each of us God has been and was always present as we came into being. The same God knows and loves us and calls us by name from the first moment of our existence. Next weekend, we will celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I invite you and your extended family to join with us in one of our celebrations of the Eucharist. Even if you have found it difficult to be here on a regular basis, please consider coming home to Saint Clare for Christmas. We are never truly whole unless we are all together. May this week be a wonderful time of preparation for you and your loved ones.

Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains (Letter of Saint James 5:7). Patience is a virtue that most of us encounter in its absence; we are sometimes aware of how often we are impatient with others and even with ourselves. Saint James hints at an impatience even with the Lord, Whose return seemed to be delayed. Nearly 2000 years have passed since the apostle wrote those words, and we are still urged to be patient. From its origins in Latin (patior), patience is a kind of suffering. It is not easy; it does not come to us in an easy way. So we are called to the hard work of patience, as we walk through Advent. During Advent, is not as if we are playing a game of “make believe” that the first Christmas never happened. Rather, we look forward to the Lord’s return, even as we prepare to celebrate the anniversary of His Birth in Bethlehem. Advent is a time of “PPP:” Prayer, Preparation and Patience

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist, “the greatest and last of the prophets,” each in his own way, announced the coming of Jesus. Isaiah prophesied the peaceable kingdom that Jesus, in the power of the spirit of the Lord, would usher in. It would be a time of justice: cow and bear, wolf and lamb, calf and lion would live together in peace. The Baptist, on the other hand, announced Jesus’ imminent presence, encouraging his hearers to “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” This Lord came to us 2000 years ago and God’s reign is among us; yet we live in times that are far from the perfect peace that has been promised. Ours is the task of building up peace and justice in every moment, every act of our lives. Only then will our world have a chance.

The Season of Advent helps to prepare us so that we may prepare the way of the Lord. This may sound odd, since Christmas celebrates His Birth more than 2000 years ago. The season invites us to look back to that coming in time, even as we look forward to His return at the end of time. But it is even more important for us to prepare His way into our daily lives. For just as momentous as was the Incarnation when Jesus was born of Mary, so are the many times Jesus breaks into our world and our lives today, tomorrow and each day. Advent invites us to be attentive to the Lord and to prepare by works of charity and peace to be His living presence in our world today. God knows how much this is needed. Let this Advent greeting give us hope: “From Christ who is, who was and who is to come, grace, light and peace be with you all!” Advent Candles are still available for $5.50 per set, as are copies of the 2023 Saint Joseph Missal for Sundays and Holy Days, for $5.00. The Spanish Misal 2023 will also be here soon and for sale for $9.50 each.

The Jews desperately hoped for a Messiah, the Savior who would rid them of the interference of the Romans who occupied Israel. They wanted an earthly king who brought stability and peace. On Palm Sunday, they proclaimed the Lord with loud Hosannas: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” And what did they get? A suffering Savior Who is nailed to the “throne” of the Cross, on which were written the words, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” The images of God’s royal reign are not of riches and power, but of servant, shepherd, and, yes, crucifixion. Saint Paul hands on the to Colossian Christian community a hymn, which we hear in the second reading today. The last lines are these: He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be supreme. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven. This is the Christ we proclaim today and in Whose reign we seek to live. In proclaiming Jesus Christ as King of the Universe, we need to allow Him to be King of our hopes and dreams and hearts. Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. It is for us the only true American feast, and it is good that we try to observe it by coming together to celebrate as we give thanks to God for all that we are and all that we have. I hope your schedule allows you to be with us for the 10:00 am Mass, which will have elements in English, Spanish and Portuguese. At that Mass, we invite you to bring non-perishable food to support the work of our Saint Vincent de Paul Society – as part of the Procession of Gifts. Also, the collection that day will go toward this work. Next weekend, we enter into a new liturgical year as we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent. During that season, we proclaim Jesus Christ, the One who is, who was and who is to come. The past and future meet in the present. We look not only to history or some unknown future in search of the Lord. We look around, to welcome Him into our daily lives, in and through the people we encounter each day. May our Advent 2022 be an opportunity for us to discover the many ways God is present to us.

We hear more about the “end times” in the readings this Sunday. I repeat what I wrote last weekend: That time, “the Day of the Lord,” is not to be feared by those who live their lives well. However, “all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire” (Malachi 3:19). The choice, though sometimes complicated, belongs to each of us. Will we live according to the virtues of truth, justice, peace and forgiveness, or will we choose another path, one that does not incorporate the way of the Lord? Even if we have occasionally walked this way, the Lord calls us to renewal and conversion. The coming season of Advent gives us the opportunity to reflect on the way we live in light of the coming of the Lord long ago and His breaking into our lives each and every day.

The readings these last Sundays of the liturgical year (which ends Saturday after Thanksgiving), leading up to the Feast of Christ the King, are about “end things”. . .the end of our lives and the end of the world. For the Christian, neither are to be feared, for these days usher in our salvation and the salvation of the world. For us, the “Day of the Lord” need not be feared, for it brings life and healing: “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays” (Malachi 3:20a). I repeat something that should be familiar to us: We will not be judged by the way we die, but according to how we have lived. God’s grace, God’s own life in us, continues to call us to live in humility, service and love. While this is not always easy and sometimes we fail in our attempts, God leads and guides us along the right path, offering us hope and healing. During November, we pray in a special way for our beloved dead and for all who have gone before us. The Book of the Names of the Dead will remain in the sanctuary, in front of the Easter Candle, for all to write the names of those whom you would like to be included in the prayers of the parish this month.

Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, wanted to see Jesus; he was curious, so he climbed a tree for a good view. His story, from the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, could have ended there, but it was only the beginning. Jesus saw him, called him by name and went to Zacchaeus’ house for dinner. Jesus was more than curious about the tax collector; He was looking for him; the Lord was intent on saving him, despite the murmurings of the “good people.” Our individual histories mirror – or echo – this. The Lord calls each of us by name, for God wants nothing more than our sharing His life (“I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” [John 10:10].) In the end, the mission of the Church is the proclamation of this good news and, through the sacraments, to guide us in the ways of God’s life, even as we continue to share this message “to the ends of the earth.” Each of us shares this mission, which begins at home. . .in each of our homes. The Gospel is not a weapon, but an invitation. Faith cannot be forced, but learned from the example of our lives and the joy of the Good News. Just as He was looking for Zacchaeus, so the Lord continues to look for us and, in a special way, for those who have wandered from Him over the years. This is true good news for us to share.